Red Ink: Human versus Squid

The Careless Juggler and The Lonely Scholar

"Yo, at night, the Ferris wheel's all... like... sparkly and junk." - Pearl

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I'd never been to a theme park before. When I had told Ace, Bryson, and Liv where we'd be going, I received mixed reactions. Liv was stoked, Ace seemed eager as always, but as for Bryson...

Bryson wasn't exactly the type of person who relaxed. I supposed that all of that Annaki clan stuff was enough to always keep him on edge. I was going to do everything I could to help him get into a calmer state of mind.

Ace had also decided to help me, telling me he couldn't let Bryson keep feeling down. I didn't expect any less from Bryson's best friend. As for Liv, she was willing to help me as well. Together, we'd all get his mind off of his lineage. He didn't deserve the stress.

Walking alongside Nem-Nem and my friends, we approached the tall metal gates, a jellyfish standing in front of them. As David flashed the pass, the jellyfish stepped aside, pressing a button to open the gates.

Scalpel looked at me, asking, "You don't really intend on riding them all , do you?"

"You're only a kid once, Bram," David commented.

Berry, who had been staying in the back of the group, exchanged glances with me, the shy inkling boy staying quiet. When Scalpel had brought Berry along, Ace was quick to try befriending him. He would nudge Berry's shoulder and point to the tall rides we would see over the gates before we had even entered, and they'd both smile as they talked about them.

Meanwhile, I stayed next to Bryson and Liv. Liv was really excited. She had never been to an amusement park before, just like me. We fawned over the tallest ride there, The Death Drop. When getting on, it would take you to the highest point it could take you, and then it would drop, letting gravity pull you down towards somewhat certain death, but before you would hit the bottom, it would slow down, allowing you to safely hit the bottom without injury.

Nem-Nem smiled and said, "Alright, kids. C'mon. I'll accompany you. We'll leave David and Bram to do their own thing."

"Thank you, Nem," said David, his eyes showing genuine appreciation.

"Let's get to the buffet," Scalpel said to David. "I skipped breakfast this morning trying to finish up some paperwork."

"You work too hard," said David with concern. "Come on. Let's go."

As they left, I looked to Nem-Nem, asking, "Where to?"

Nem's tentacle hair raised up a little as she smiled in remembrance. "When David, Bram, and I were little, we would go on the smaller rides first, and then we'd make our way up to the bigger ones."

"Sounds fresh," said Ace. "Which one do we go to first?"

"Maybe we can try Squid's Mountain Path," Liv suggested. "It's pretty tame."

"That's a good idea, Olivia," replied Nem. "Let's go, everyone."

The park ground was clean and was composed of white cement. From the main area by the gate, I could see the many rides scattered, like the large ferris wheel by the docks and the Wahoo Whirl-a-Whirl, a giant structure that you could go inside, and once they strapped you to the wall within it, the machine would spin at high speeds.

Of course, that wouldn't be the start of our day here. If anything, it'd be one of the things at the end. As we walked to the first ride, a standard roller-coaster. I could tell that Bryson was very hesitant to let his serious nature go. He seemed to have tensed up again since his fight with Emperor. I guessed that since he had come so close to being shunned, he had decided to keep stoic. But was that really the best option for him? It wasn't healthy, that was for sure.